Safety razor blade sharpener



"May3, 1938. WR; A. F. OHLENDORF 6,

SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed June 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 3,1938. re. A. F. OHLENDORF 2,116,038

SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER 7 Filed June 25, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented May 3, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Aires, Argentina,assignor, by mesne assignments, to Felipe Saettone, Bvuenos Aires,

Argentina Application June 25, 1936, Serial No. 87.302 In Argentina July3, 1935 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for whetting andsharpening safety razor blades, and the principal object of theinvention is the provision of a simple, but practical, blade carrying 5device for use in whetting and sharpening razor blades. By practicingthis invention it is possible to restore blades which are very much wornout to efficient shaving condition.

There have been many devices for this same purpose, but the knowndevices are generally undesirable, because they are either ofcomplicated construction, which means that they are relatively expensiveand easily broken, or that they are of simple construction but sodesigned that great skill is necessary if the blade is to be properlysharpened.

The present invention avoids the disadvantages of the known whetting andsharpening devices referred to. The apparatus "according to the presentinvention is advantageously distinguished from those now on'the marketby its extremely simple construction, and low cost. a The apparatus hasno complicated construction or mechanism to be easily worn out orbroken; it is of almost unlimited duration. The operation of theapparatus is" of such simplicity that it may be performed by anybody,the apparatus being so constructed that a whetting or sharpeningcontrary to the cutting-edge of the safety razor blade is renderedimpossible. The whetting operation is always efiicient and never fails,because the inclination and the counter-pressure of the safety razorblade under treatment are so provided for that perfectwhetting orsharpening is secured.

The invention consistsin a device for use in whetting or sharpeningrazor blades, comprising two superimposed inflexible frames having arectangular aperture therethrough for the blade, slidably arranged bladeholding means adapted '40 to support the blade in a plane at rightangles to the frames, and retaining means provided with a pair of short,relatively narrow notches. into which the side edges of the bladeextend. Thus whetting or sharpening of the blade can be effected bymoving a finger, or suitable whetting element, along the framestransverse to the blade with flexure of the latter during passage of thefinger or element thereover.

The apparatus according to the invention, also comprises the featurethat the superimposed supporting frames are provided with rods arrangedalong the longitudinal edges thereof, said rods being sufficiently highto permit the safety razor blade carrier to be placed on a table or flatsurface, without said blade'touching the surface, said rods serving alsoas guide members for a separate whetting or sharpening element.

Additional features of the present invention will become evident fromthe following specification of the safety razor blade sharpener, withreference to the accompanying drawings, on which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the lower frame of the blade carrieraccording to this invention;

Figure 2 is an underneath plan view of the upper frame of the bladecarrier according to this invention;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the blade holder, and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the grooved member, carried by the framesshown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blade carrier as illustrated in Figures 1to 4 in slightly modified form, showing the blade holder and groovedmember in dotted lines;

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the blade carrier as shown in Figure 5with a special whetting element placed thereon;

Figure 7 shows by way of example only, a suitable whetting andsharpening element in plan view and cross section, respectively;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a whetting and sharpening element in amodified form also shown by way of example only.

In these figures the same reference numerals refer to like orcorresponding parts shown in different views.

The razor blade Whetter or sharpener, according to the present inventionand as shown on the accompanying drawings, comprises a blade car rier asshown in Figures 1 to 6, and a whetting or sharpening element asillustrated in Figures '7 and 8.

The blade carrier'device according to the in vention consists of twosuperimposed supporting frames l of any suitable material each havingone end shaped to form a handle 2. The two frames i are secured togetherby screws, nails, or any other suitable means that also serve to securea spacing frame 3 between them, the spacing frame being cut out at thecentral portion to provide a flat space for the purpose of receiving ablade holder 4 and a retaining member 5. The frames I each have arectangular central slot 5 and one or more longitudinal slots 1, thelatter for receiving projections 8 provided on the blade holder 4whereby the blade holder is guided in its movement, which can beefiected by a small handle or button constituted by one of saidprojections 8.

The slidable blade holder 4 comprises a comb like portion 9 having threeprojections or teeth Ill. The same is of sheet material and is slidablyarranged within cut out portions of the spacing frame 3 between the twosupporting frames I, in such a manner that its projections or teeth It!may be moved to project over the central slots 6 of the frames l inorder to engage the usual perforations of the razor blade to besharpened and to normally carry the latter in a plane at right angles tosaid supporting frame, the blade being readily disengaged by withdrawingthe teeth Ii! of the blade holder 4 from the central slot or aperture 6of said frames. 7

The retaining member is of sheet material, and has extensions ll eachwith a projecting centre portion l2 and a small notch l3. Thev retainingmember is secured to one of the supporting frames I in such a mannerthat the notches or grooves are situated immediately above the centre ofthe side edges of the perforation 6. The grooves receive the ends of therazor blade to be whetted or sharpened and serve to retain the bladecarried by the comb like portion 9 of the blade holder 4 from sliding onthe teeth In of said comb like portion.

The width of the grooves I3 is preferably so calculated that a razorblade retained therein may have a limited movement of rotation aroundits central axis, but offers resistance to further movement so as tobecome flexed to the correct sharpening angle during sharpening ashereinafter explained.

A separate whetting or sharpening element 14, not forming part of theinvention, adapted to be used in connection with the razor blade carrieraccording to this invention and as shown by way of example only inFigures 6 and '7 comprises a simple block of any suitable material ofsquare cross section, preferably .in the form of a rhomboidalparallelopiped, having the side surfaces covered or coated withdifferent materials, e g. leather, l5, willow wood, I 6, glass, l1, andslate, l8, or the like.

This element I4 may also be of any other cross section and may be of theform as shown by way of example only in the Figure 8, in which twodifferent materials, e. g. leather l5 and willow wood l6 are arrangedendwise one adjacent to the other on a curved surface of the element,the opposite side of the latter being provided with small cylindricalrods of glass I 'l and slate l8. In this way the element I4 alsoprovides for four different whetting and sharpening surfaces andconveniently comprises some kind of a handle I9.

When using the first described whetting or sharpening element l4, Figure'7, the blade carrier may conveniently be provided with four bars 20fixed along the longitudinal edges of the supporting frames l as shownin Figures 5 and 6, said bars being sufliciently high to permit theblade carrier device with the safety razor blade inserted therein to beplaced on a table or the like, without the latter touching the blade.Said bars thus support the blade carrier device, and the handle 2 may bereadily dispensed with. On the other hand and what is more important,the bars 20 serve as guide members for the whetting element l4, Figure7, to be used in connection with said safety razor blade carrier.

The whetting or sharpening element as shown in Figure 8 is designed tobe used in connection with the blade carrier according to the Figures 1and 2, and it has to be stated that with said blade carrier any personmay effect whetting or sharp ening by using his own finger instead ofthe special whetting or sharpening element as illustrated.

The device is used as follows:-

Suppose the safety razor blade carrier is to be used in the conditionshown in Figures 1 to 4, the blade holder 4 is withdrawn, by moving theprojection or button 8 along the slot 1 until the teeth l extend onlyover less than half of the rectangular central perforation 6 provided inthe supporting frames I. The safety razor to be Whetted or sharpened isnow inserted in the notches or grooves 13 of the retaining member sothat the usual perforations of the razor blade are at the same level asthe projections or teeth ID of the blade holder 4. The latter is thenmoved so that said teeth extend through the usual perforations of theblade. The blade is thus held in a vertical position ready to besubmitted to the action of the whetting element I 4, which is simplyplaced upon the upper supporting frame I and slid towards the razorblade, so that when it contacts with the latter it will incline and flexthe razor blade, which owing to its resilience will offer resistance,while with continued movement it passes over the cutting edge of theblade, effecting a whetting action thereon on one side of the edge,whereupon the other side is similarly treated by moving the whettingelement back to its initial position. It Will'be understood that thewhetting element has to be passe-d completely over the razor blade, sothat the latter by its own resilience may strike back to its verticalposition, before the whetting element is returned. In this manner it isimpossible to effect a whetting operation contrary to the cutting edgeof the razor blade. Further, it will be appreciated that whenthewhetting element is moved toand fro several times, both surfaces of thecutting edge on one side of the razor blade are uniformly whetted orsharpened, and that by simply changing the contact surface of thewhetting element, the whetting or sharpening may be readily effectedfirst with one material such as leather, and thereafter with anothermaterial such as glass or the like, in order to secure a proper shavingcondition of the cutting edge of the razor blade. In order to whet orsharpen the other cutting edge of the razor blade, it is not necessaryto touch the same; the blade-carrier, device is simply turned over andthe opposite surface thereof as a guide for the sharpening element. Whenusing the carrier device as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 in connectionwith the whetting and sharpening element l4 of Figure 7, in the Way asclearly shown in the Figure 6, it will be noted that the bars 20properly guide the whetting element in such a way that the latter whenmoved to and fro over the razor blade, it contacts therewith under acertain angle with respect to the position of the blade and thus isstill more effective in the whetting and sharpening of the same. Aftercompleting the whetting and sharpening operation, the blade holder 4 iswithdrawn, and the blade being in vertical position may be taken out byhand, without it being necessary to touch the cutting edges thereof.

From the preceding description it will be readily understood andperfectly appreciated that the device according to the presentinvention, is not only advantageous owing to its simple construction,its low cost and its long duration, but that it is also more efficientand easier to handle than most of the known whetting and sharpeningdevlces.

It will be further understood that the present invention is notrestricted to the particular embodiments as described and shown on theaccompanying drawings, but that modifications may be introduced thereinwithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:---

1. A device for use in whetting or sharpening safety razor blades,comprising twosuperimposed inflexible frames having an aperturetherethrough for a blade, blade holding means slidably arranged betweensaid frames and adapted to be moved in and out of said aperture and tofreely support the blade within said frames normally in a planeperpendicular to said frames, and blade retaining means alsoarranged-between said frames and provided with a pair of short,relatively narrow notches into which the side edges of the blade extend;and upstanding ribs disposed on the upper surface of said frames toaccommodate a separate whetting element therebetween, sharpening of theblade being effected by to and fro sliding movement of the whettingelement across the blade with fiexure of the latter during passage ofthe whetter thereover. v

2. A device for use in whetting or sharpening safety razor blades,comprising two superimposed, rigidly interconnected inflexible frameswith one end thereof shaped as a handle, said frames being spaced apartby an interposed spacing frame, said frames having an aperturetherethrough to receive a blade, blade holding means slidably arrangedbetween said frames and adapted to be moved in and out of said apertureand to freely support the blade within said frames normallyperpendicular to said frames, said blade holding means consisting ofsheet material and comprising a comb like portion adapted to engage theperforations of the blade to be sharpened and a body portion providedwith projections extending into longitudinal slots in thefirst-mentioned frames for moving and guiding the blade holder forengaging or disengaging the blade, and blade retaining means alsoarranged between said frames and provided with a pair of short,relatively narrow notches into which the side edges of the blade extend,whereby sharpening of the blade can be effected by sliding movement of apersons finger or separate whetting element along the frames across theblade with fiexure of the latter during passage of the whetterthereover.

3. A device for use on whetting or sharpening safety razor blades,having a slidable blade holder of sheet material, said blade holdercomprising a comb like portion and a rearwardly extending body portionwith one or more vertically extending projections, a blade retainingmember of similar sheet material having lateral extensions each providedwith a short relatively narrow notch, two superimposed frames forsupporting said blade holder and said retaining member, a spacing framebetween said superimposed supporting frames providing between the latterthe required space for receiving and housing said blade holder and saidretaining member; a central rectangular aperture in said supportingframes into which extend said comb like portion of the blade holder andsaid retaining member, and Within which the blade to be sharpened isheld and retained during the whetting or sharpening operation.

ROBERT ALEXANDER FERDINAND OHLENDORF.

